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Definition of platypus - 4 dictionary results
plat⋅y⋅pus
[plat-i-puh
s, -poos] 
–noun, plural -pus⋅es, -pi [-pahy] .
[-pahy] . | a small, aquatic, egg-laying monotreme, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Australia and Tasmania, having webbed feet, a tail like that of a beaver, a sensitive bill resembling that of a duck, and, in adult males, venom-injecting spurs on the ankles of the hind limbs, used primarily for fighting with other males during the breeding season. |
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To platypus
| plat·y·pus (plāt'ĭ-pəs) n. pl. plat·y·pus·es A semiaquatic egg-laying mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) of Australia and Tasmania, having a broad flat tail, webbed feet, and a snout resembling a duck's bill. Also called duckbill, duck-billed platypus. [New Latin Platypūs, former genus name, from Greek platupous, flat-footed : platu-, platy- + pous, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Platypus
Plat"y*pus\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? + ? foot.] (Zo["o]l.) The duck mole. See under Duck.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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platypus
1799, from Mod.L., from Gk. platypous, lit. "flat-footed," from platys "broad, flat" (see place (n.)) + pous "foot."
"Orig. the generic name, but, having already been given to a genus of beetles, it was in 1800 changed for Ornithorhyncus." [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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